Some 41% of independent card and gift retailers have set their sights on growing their business this year – though most of these (33%) are realistic that this growth will not be significant. These encouraging research findings are from the PG Retail Barometer, the only annual survey into the health and wealth of the independent greeting card retailer.
On the downside, 21% of indies in our sector are bracing themselves for a drop in business this year, but this is an improvement on what actually happened last year (2020 v 2019), when 65% of indies experienced a drop, which is hardly surprising given the extended lockdowns.
However, almost 20% of indies said that their business actually grew last year, having made the most of the grant and furlough money to reduce costs while reaping rewards on the huge shift to shopping locally when they were open, as well as investments in online/Click & Collect paying off.
In the periods when indie card retailers were able to trade in 2020, the majority experienced an upturn in the average spend, partly due to pent-up demand but also attributed to customers reducing the number of shopping trips but buying more when they did venture out.
The ‘shop local’ trend was cited as having been the biggest boon to an indie’s business over the last year, followed by social media.
Amplifying the ‘shop local’ message, with more employees working from home also brought new customers into indies’ shops (ranking third in the list of boons to business) while the value of social media really came into its own with retailers making the most of Instagram, and Facebook especially to boost their communication with customers.
Looking further ahead to the next 10 years, indies definitely feel more positive about the role of the independent card retailer, with 65% of respondents seeing it as having a real future (up from 44% a year ago) with only 12% seeing the long future as weak (last year this figure was 30%).
Greeting cards certainly came into their own over the last year – a tangible way of communicating with loved ones at a time when meeting up physically was not an option for many. Over 75% of respondents were in no doubt that the consumer’s appreciation of greeting cards grew over the last year. Of these 27% felt that the appreciation had ‘increased significantly’. Long may that continue!
On the product diversification front, it is eco-goods that claims top spot for the second year in succession, but the biggest climber on the product wishlist front, perpetuated by lockdown habits are candles/diffusers, which have jumped six spots in the list. Furthermore, balloons and partyware ranked number five out of eighteen peripheral product ranges that card retailers were looking to expand with.
The PG Retail Barometer is an annual survey of independent greeting card retailers. This latest survey includes both independent retailers who are Cardgains members (accounting for 1,000 rooftops) as well as those who are not a member of the buying group. All surveys were completed by 4 February 2021. To find out more about Progressive Greetings Magazine or Progressive Greetings Live – the only dedicated greeting card trade show in the UK, please contact us.
Top: Part of a poster that Five Dollar Shake created for its indie customers to promote shopping locally last Christmas.
